Wazzup Pilipinas!?
How come the Environment is not included among the choices of most important issues in the Philippines? Are we all going to let it be relegated only as among the Others?
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Located along the Pacific ring of fire, the Philippines is highly susceptible to seismic and volcanic risks. The country is also subject to the world record of typhoons every year. Climate change and pandemics are exacerbating those risks. A greener environment will solve the other issues like Health and Disaster Preparedness. Protecting the environment will obviously lead to better Health conditions for the population. Our healthcare system is in dire need of resuscitation. In accordance with the World Health Organization's guidelines, the air quality in the Philippines is considered moderately unsafe. A greener environment will ultimately solve the most important environmental issues facing the world today including pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, depletion of natural resources, overpopulation, waste disposal, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity.
Makati, Pasig, and Quezon City were identified as the top 3 cities with the most air pollution in NCR, and the Philippines is the third-ranking contributor to plastic pollution in the world, with at least 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste generated every year. Water and air pollution levels exceed generally accepted health standards; and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing from rapid urbanization. Coal plant emissions are estimated to cause up to 2,400 deaths per year in the Philippines due to various diseases.
A better environment will give us clean air, water, food, materials and space for recreation. Having plenty of these resources equates more to better health for all of us. Spending time in nature is also great for our mental health. And if we do not take care of the planet, its climate and ecosystems, we undermine how our societies function, worsen our lives and, perhaps most directly, harm our own well-being, thus making us unhealthy or more prone to illness.
Our forests, rivers, oceans and soils provide us with the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we irrigate our crops with. We also rely on them for numerous other goods and services we depend on for our health, happiness and prosperity. The natural environment gives us a wealth of services that are difficult to measure. Natural areas help clean our air, purify our water, produce food and medicines, reduce chemical and noise pollution, slow floodwaters, and cool our streets. We call this work 'ecosystem services'. Forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems act as buffers against extreme weather, protecting houses, crops, water supplies and vital infrastructure.
Why must we contend with the destabilizing effects of natural disasters? To mitigate disasters and have less need for Disaster Preparedness, a better environment enveloping us will definitely reduce, if not totally diminish, flooding, climate crisis, and other related natural anomalies.
The Philippines is most at risk of geophysical hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, as well as climatological hazards such as typhoons and drought. We should be increasingly alarmed by the issue of deforestation. It is one of the major environmental problems we are facing today. Aside from deforestation, also among the excessive climate risk and environmental issues looming over the Philippines are plastic pollution, the sea level rise, and the damage to coastal areas and marine life and the rising temperatures threatening the health, livelihoods and quality of life of Filipinos. Poverty leads to deforestation through inappropriate use of wood and other resources for cooking, heating, housing and crafts, thus depriving vulnerable groups from essential goods and accelerating both the downwards spiral of poverty and environmental degradation. Pollution, caused by human activity such as industrialization and urbanization, would continue to damage the environment and human health. Air and water pollution would lead to respiratory and heart disease, and toxic chemicals would contaminate soil and water, making them unfit for human consumption.
With the industrialization of society and the increase in global trade, there has been a lot more pollution and waste produced. Since the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels and other activities have increased the number of greenhouse gas emissions in Earth's atmosphere, leading to an increase in global warming. The resulting climate change has accelerated disruption of the environment and vital natural processes. Although climate change can also occur from natural causes, human behavior has led to an increase in greenhouse emissions.
We are all still exposed and witness to increasing smoke pollution from cars and manufacturing industries, improper waste disposal from slums and companies clogging drainages, canals and rivers, illegal mining polluting the surroundings lands and rivers, illegal logging causing deforestation and severe flooding. Increased emissions of greenhouse gases have led to a rapid and steady increase in global temperatures, which in turn is causing catastrophic events all over the world. The Philippines suffers major human-caused environmental degradation aggravated by a high annual population growth rate, including loss of agricultural lands,deforestation,soil erosion, air and water pollution, improper disposal of solid and toxic wastes, loss of coral reefs, mismanagement and abuse of coastal resources and overfishing.
The present state of the Philippine environment is a continuation of decades of downtrend. Unsustainable practices and indiscriminate natural resource extraction caused the massive degradation of our environment from the upland up to the coastal and marine ecosystems.
Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility. The environment includes the elements of sunlight, water, air, and soil, all of which are essential for human survival. It ensures the continuation of life by maintaining genetic variation and biodiversity. Protecting the environment plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy. We should maintain the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth to continue providing enough food, shelter, air, and fulfill all the basic human needs whether big or small. We should prioritize environmental health, protecting the ecosystem vitality, and mitigating climate change.
We know our planet cannot continue on its current trajectory and everyone has a responsibility to minimize their environmental impact; and in the case of organisations, work towards net zero.
So why is the environment not a priority issue? A study found that favorable economic contexts, such as a relatively high income level and low inflation, foster environmental concern. This is likely related to the idea of a "finite pool of worry" in which more immediate issues like economic security crowd out less immediate issues like climate policy. Sadly, if we continue this thinking, sustainability in the Philippines has a long way to go.
What does the Philippine Constitution say about environmental protection? From the constitution "The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature." It shall be the policy of the State to regulate the prospecting of biological and genetic resources so that these resources are protected and conserved. How do we get more people to care about the natural world so they're moved to stand up and defend it? The answer is complex, of course, because humans are complex. But part of it can be found in a simple truth: Some people don't care much about the natural world because they haven't experienced nature directly.
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Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
